Bitcoin

Industry Report: Poloniex Ditches NH, Santander Embraces Ethereum

Nick Marinoff | Sep 23, 2016 | 14:53

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Poloniex exiles New Hampshire, Santander joins hands with Ethereum, and a new copper gadget offers digital payments. Want to catch up on your latest digital currency and tech news? Read the stories below.

Also read: Industry Report: $150 Million in Cryptocurrency is Destroyed

POLONIEX

Digital currency exchange Poloniex is suspending all services in New Hampshire thanks to new license-based regulations and requirements. Poloniex is giving New Hampshire customers until October 6 to withdraw their funds. Anyone who misses the deadline will have “view-only” access until relations are re-established in the “Live free or die” state.

Poloniex has announced it is currently working with New Hampshire regulators to establish business connections for the near future:

“Our legal team is working closely with the State of New Hampshire Banking Department and other regulatory agencies to verify that changes in their statuses apply to the services offered by Poloniex and to seek license where necessary. This is a nascent industry; as the regulations around it mature, these types of service disruptions may not be entirely avoidable, but we have been and will continue to be proactive in educating regulators and monitoring both existing laws and upcoming changes to these laws so that we can limit interruptions wherever possible.”

SANTANDER

Spanish banking giant Santander has announced it will use Ethereum’s blockchain to digitize public cash. EtherCamp founder Roman Mandeleil revealed the news in a recent Devcon2 panel, making Santander the first bank to offer cash through a public blockchain system.

The bank began testing blockchain applications last May in an attempt to simplify international payments.

SCRIP

A new copper gadget called Scrip is in development. The idea behind Scrip is to provide new ways for digital payments, but the device takes things a step further. Scrip allows users to visit specific ATM systems, where they can load money onto their devices. But, the item’s structure and surface undergo physical changes depending on how much money it contains.

The invention is designed to offer and imitate the benefits of cash without physical coins or paper bills. The team behind Scrip is that of Silicon Valley-based New Deal Design. President Gadi Amit explains:

“Everybody hates cash – the system is trying to kill cash… It always fails, but we still figured that there’s a need for something new, something connected to the digital world, but that is akin to cash.”

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Image courtesy of Poloniex.